New York Gasoline Snaps 7-Day Decline on Refinery Work

By Christine Harvey -
Jan 22, 2013

New York Harbor gasoline
strengthened for the first time in more than a week as refiners
including Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and Philadelphia Energy Solutions
conducted work at plants on the U.S. East Coast.

Delta’s Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania, which last month
shut a fluid catalytic cracker, is expected to need until the
last week of January to complete repairs, according to two
people familiar with operations. A hydrodesulfurization unit and
a cumene unit shut this month for planned maintenance at the
Philadelphia refinery, regulatory filings show.

A separate section of the Philadelphia plant is expected to
shut for 60 days of work next week, according to a separate
person familiar with operations. That may shrink supplies on the
East Coast, where the Trainer and Philadelphia plants represent
about 42 percent of refining capacity. The sites can process a
combined 540,000 barrels a day.

Reformulated 84-octane gasoline in New York gained 0.5 cent
to trade at a discount of 1.5 cents a gallon to futures on the
New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:14 p.m., the first advance
since Jan. 10. Conventional gasoline to be blended with ethanol
in New York rose 0.58 cent to 1.52 under futures.

Ultra-low-sulfur diesel gained 0.62 cent to trade at 5.5
cents above heating oil futures. The East Coast’s stockpiles of
distillates, including heating oil and diesel, retreated 1.7
percent to 42.5 million barrels last week, the Energy
Information Administration, an agency of the Energy Department,
said Jan. 16.

Motor-fuel supplies rose 1 percent to 53.4 million barrels
as refineries in the area processed about 1.1 millions barrels
of crude and other feedstock a day. The 3-2-1 crack spread, a
measure of New York Harbor refining profitability based on Brent
oil in Europe, rose 94.45 cents to $8.7702 a barrel at 3:52
p.m., the highest level since Jan. 11.